Longue chair

ABSTRACT

A chaise lounge having a seat, a back and a footrest, the back and the footrest being pivoted to the seat. A rocker is rigidly attached to the back so that the occupant can rock himself. Adjusting means are provided for locking the assembly in a desired position, the whole assembly being so balanced that an occupant can adjust it while seated.

United States Patent 151 3,695,685 Lamb [4 1 Oct. 3, 1972 LONGUE CHAIR 3,319,270 5/1967 Greinen, ..297/29 X 72 Inventor: Thomas L Lamb 3 w 1- St 1,704,585 3/1929 ASUUC ..297/29 1 East Toronto ontario 8 5:" 2,888,775 6/1959 Thoeming ..248/l88.9 3,306,659 2/1967 Greiner ..297/29 Flledl 1970 2,560,436 7/1951 Green ..297/247 X [21] Appl. No.: 81,385 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [30] Foreign Application Priority Data 211,362 4/1956 Australia ..5/37 R Oct. 17, 1969 Canada ..065176 Primary ExaminerFranis Zugel Attorney-Shlesinger, Arkwright & Garvey [52] US. Cl. ..297/29, 297/258, 297/429,

297/355, 5/37 R [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl ..A47c 1/034 A chaise lounge having a seat, a back and a footrest, [58] g q ggg z' fz ja 5 the back and the footrest being pivoted to the seat. A i 111 rocker is rigidly attached to the back so that the occupant can rock himself. Adjusting means are provided V for locking the assembly in a desired position, the [56] References cued whole assembly being so balanced that an occupant TED STATES PATENTS can adjust it while seated.

2,670,785 3/1954 Machet ..5/37 R 10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDIJBT3 I972 3,695,685

SHEET 2 0F 3 ,FIG.6.

FIG. 3b.

ii TW '1 INVENTOR- f/dmas' [/8015 LONGUE CHAIR FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to chairs, and in particular to lounge chairs.

PRIOR ART Conventional lounge chairs are usually in three body supporting positions; a back, a seat and a footrest. The chair is usually supported on the ground by legs which are attached to the seat portion, with adjusting means being provided between the back and the seat. The footrest is usually supportable in either a' retracted or an extended position, but in some arrangements the footrest is adjustable to as many positions as is the back.

A disadvantage of many of the prior art arrangements is that it is necessary for the occupant to get out of the chair in order to make any adjustments to the position of the back and/or the footrest. It is also a disadvantage of prior art structures that the adjustin means are difficult and inconvenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a lounge chair which is readily adjustable by the occupant while he is in situ. A novel feature of the invention is that the chair is rockable, so the occupant can recline, and gently rock himself, by shifting his body weight or by applying pressure to the parts of the chair.

To the above ends, the invention, in a preferred form, comprises a back, a seat having a front and a rear, and a footrest. The back and the footrest are pivotally attached to the rear and the front of the seat, respectively, and a rocker is rigidly attached to the back. Leg means are also rigidly attached to the footrest. The rocker is preferably so attached to the back that when the chair is in its level position the point at which the rocker makes contact with the ground is directly below the point at which the back is pivoted to the seat, and the legs attached to the footrest preferably make contact with the ground directly below the point at which the footrest is pivoted to the seat.

Preferably, locking means are provided betweenthe back and the seat so that the back can be locked in one of a selected number of positions. Desirably also, the locking means are augmented by friction clutch means which are adjustable so that the tendency of the assembly to rock can be damped and better controlled by an occupant.

Since the arrangement is such that the occupant changes the adjustment of the chair by shifting his weight, or for example by applying pressure downward on the foot rest, it is a relatively simple matter for a change in position of the chair to be made. First, the locking means are released so that the chair is free to move, and then the occupant merely shifts his weight, or applies pressure as the case may be, to move the chair to its desired positionof adjustment. He then reengages the locking means to fix the chair in the chosen position. However, it should be understood that the arrangement contemplated is not only intended to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, but is also intended to provide a novel and useful function, that is, the rocking of the whole assembly in a manner restful to the occupant.

Inanother form,-the invention comprises a back portionanda seat portion, with the seat being pivotally attached to the back. This arrangementis similar to the preferred embodiment in thata rocker is provided on the back, but thelegs'are rigidly attached to the front of the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Turning now to the drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a chair according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a preferred locking means for use with a chair according to FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3a and 3b are end views of the locking means of FIG. 2, as arranged on the tubular frame of the chair, in the unlocked and locked positions, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the chair slightly tilted.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the alternative locking means.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the locking means of FIG. 7, in the locked position.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section of FIG. 8 along the lines v 9,9 viewed in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 10 is a cross section of a portion of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, a chair 10 has a back 11, a seat 12 and a footrest 13. For the sake of clarity, the covering for the back 11, seat 12 and footrest 13 is shown in dotted lines. It should be understood that any conventional seat covering, such as webbing or canvas, can be used. In a preferred form, a single piece of canvas is detachably attached to all three of the components 11, 12, and 13.

The back 11 is pivotally attached to the seat 12 at 14,14 by locking means 15 and 15', respectively. The foot rest 13 is pivotally attached to the front of the seat 12 at 16, 16'. While locking means such as 15, 15 are not provided in this embodiment between the seat 12 and the footrest 13, it should be understood that the applicant does not wish to exclude the possibility of using such locking arrangements.

The back 11 consists of a tubular metal frame having a top 18, two parallel sides 19, 19, and two semi-circular rockers 20, 20 are extensions of sides l9, l9 and commence at the pivot points 14, 14', terminating in straight foot portions 21, 21' and a bridging crossmember 22.

The seat 12 consists of a substantially U-shaped metal frame having a base 23 and parallel sides 24, 24'.

The footrest 13 is similar in configuration to the back 11, although it is generally desirable for the footrest 13 to be slightly shorter than the back 1 l. The footrest 13 is a tubular metal frame consisting of a cross-piece 25, a pair of parallel sides 26, 26', a pair of curved legs 27, 27', and a cross-piece 28. While the legs 27, 27. match the rockers 20, 20', the curvature is purely for aesthetic reasons and the legs could be of any other suitable shape.

Extending along the ground engaging portions and around the curvature of the rockers 20, 20' is a friction coating 29, 29 formedfrom a materialsuch as rubber, which is intended toprevent sliding. of the-rockers on a smooth surface. Similarly, the cross-piece -28 of the footrest 13 is provided with rubber or other friction sleeves 30 so that it will not slide on a smooth surface.

The locking assembly shown in FIG. 2 comprises a pair of polygonal members 34 and 35. The number of sides 41, 41', these polygonal memberswill have de pended upon the degree to which precision of adjustment of the back 1 l in relation to the seat 12 is desired; In the embodiment shown, however, members 34 and 35 have eight sides. In the embodiment shown, member 34 is approximately one half of the thickness of member 35 for a reason to be described below.

Slidably mounted on member 34 and 35 is a collar 37, the interior 38 of which is adapted to mate nonrotatably with the exterior of members 34 and 35. Collar 37 is of approximately the same width as member 35. 1

Members 34 and 35 are preferably welded to side 19 of the back 1 1, and to side 24 of the seat 12, respectively. However, any suitable means other than welding can be used, such as rivetingIA screw member 36 passes freely through side 19 and member 34 and is threaded into member 35 and side 24 at 39. Space is provided within member 35 for a friction clutch 40, preferably made from rubber, which is non-rotatably mounted within member 35 and which may engage the opposing face of member 34. The pressure of member 34 against the friction clutch 40 can be varied by the screw means 36.

The members 34 and 35, since they will be subject to fairly considerable stress, should be formed of a strong material such as steel. e

The operation of the embodiment of FIGS. 1, and 6 will now be described. In FIG. 5, thereis shown a side elevation of the chair in a flat, stable position. In this position, the occupant can .lie flat, with his weight evenly distributed so that most of it is on the back member, 11 and the seat12. Slightly less weight is on the foot member 13, andthe associated legs 27. In order to rel ease the chair to move itto another position, the occupant would first of all unscrew the adjusting screws 36 so that the pressure on each clutch 40 was relatively light. He would then slide thelocking collar 37 to the position shown in FIG. 3a.

. As mentionedabove, member 35 is approximately twicethe width of member 34, and collar 37 is the same width as member 35. Thus, when the collar 37 is in the position shown in FIG. 3a, relative movement between member 34 and 25 is permitted subject to the clutch 40 as adjusted by the screw member 36. Thus, when the members 34 and 35 arealigned, collar 37 can slide to the left as shown in FIG. 3b so that it covers all of member 34 and approximately one half of member 35, preventing relative rotation between these members 34 and 35. The release of the clutch,'and-themovement of the locking means to the openposition shown in FIG. 30, leaves the whole assembly free to move and the operator can by pushing downward with-his feet and/or lifting his shoulders move the assembly to a position such as that shown in FIG. 6 in which the back 11 is slightly raised and the footrest-1'3 is slightly down. As will be clear from FIG. 6,,as the back rises, the point at which the rockers engage the ground will move rearwardlyin relation to the pivot point 14, and the rear of the seat 12 will move downwardly. Thus, the-weight of the occupant then starts to operate to raise the back 1 l and this tendency can be countered, or used by the occupant to bring the back to a desired position.

Alternatively, with thelocking sleeve 37 in the position shown in FIG.=3a andthe clutch 40 slackened, an occupant can gently rock the whole chair between the positions shown in FIG; 5 andapproximately the posi tion shown in FIG. 6-by applying very slight pressure with his feet to the foot portion 13. If the components are properly proportioned, the unit is stable in the posi-' tion shown in FIG. 5 so long as the occupant is at rest.

It will be appreciated that the proportioning of the components, the radius of curvature of the rocker and the length of the legs are, within certain limits, relativelyimportant. While'there are too many variables for the dimensions to be specified herein, it is desirable for the radius of curvature of the rockers to be approximately one third of the distance between the rear pivots 14, 14 and the top 18 of back 11. With this arrangement, the distance between thefront and rear pivots should be slightly less than the distance between the rear pivots and the top of the back, and with such an arrangement the length of the footrest would not be important but it should be born in mind that, in the position shown in FIG. 5, the bottom of the legs 27 should engage the ground substantially below the pivot points 16, 16. As will be seen, in the arrangement illustrated the straight portions 48, 48' of the legs 27, 27' extend from a position directly below the pivot points 16, 16'

- outwardly for asmall distance. Thus, as the footrest is moved from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 6, it will rise slightly due to the difference in distance between pivot points l6, l6 and the point at which the legs 27, 27" first reach the ground, and the distancebetween the said pivot points and the cross-member 28.

In the arrangement shownin FIG. 4, the configura- Y tion is similar to that of FIG. 1, however, the operation is quite different. In FIG. 4, a back and a seat 71 are connected at-pivot points 72, 72. As in FIG. 1, the back is formed from a tubular frame 73 which extends into rockers 74, 74'.

The seat portion, unlike the seat portion of F IG.- 1, is provided with legs 75, 75 Both the rockers 74, 74' and the legs 75, 75' are connected by cross-pieces .76 and 77 respectively. 1 a 4 Preferably, a one piece canvas covering is .used for both the "back and seat portions, and locking assemblies are used at the pivot points 72, 72' in the same manner as the locking assemblies in the embodiment of FIG; 1. 1 -With the embodiment of FIG. 4, the occupant can move the back forward and back, while rocking about the rockers 74, 74. This'will resultzin'variation of the distance between the rockers 74, 74' and the legs 75, 75 of the seat portion -71.' For this reason, the crossmember should be provided with rollers 78.-

As with the embodiment' of FIG. 1, the'wei'ght-of the occupant tends to raise the back 70, once the level position is passed, due to the relative-positions of the rockers 74, 74' and the pivot points 72, 72'.

The alternative locking means illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 10 will now be described and it will be appreciated that it is used, in its environment, in substantially the same way as the previously described locking member.

This locking means comprises a locking hub 50 and a retaining hub 52 bearing a locking pin 53. Locking hub 50 is preferably welded to side 19 of the back 11 at 61 (FIG. 8) while retaining hub 52 is welded to side 24 of the seat 12 at 62. The locking hub 50 incorporates teeth 51 the number and size of which depends upon the degree to which precision of adjustment of the back 11 in relation to the seat 12 is desired. The dimensions of teeth 51 are such that the teeth are engageable with slot 55 in locking member or latch means 53. The

locking member 53 is mounted to slide in openings 56, 56 in the retaining hub 52.

Screw member 36 passes freely through side 19, locking hub 50 and aperture 58 in locking member 53, through retaining hub 52, and is then threaded 57, the latter comprising a threaded nut or sleeve within side 24 into side 24 at. Locking member 53 is movable in a vertical plane, as shown by arrows A and B, into and out of engagement with the teeth 51. In the preferred embodiment shown the degree of movement is approximately one-eighth of an inch. A surface handle 54 is provided on the locking member 53 in order to facilitate manual depression of the locking member 53. A resilient rubber pad or spring 59 is positioned between handle 54 and the upper surface 60 of retaining hub 52, and biases locking member 53 to a rest position in engagement with teeth 51.

By use of this locking means the user of the chaise longue may alter the relative positions of the back 11 and seat 12, and thus the foot rest 13. This operation involves depressing the handle 54 which thereby moves the locking member 53 against the bias of spring 59 in a downward direction, shown by arrow B, and thereby slot 55 is released from engagement with one of the teeth 51 on locking hub 50. In this position, locking hub 50 may be freely moved about member 36 and therefore side 19, to which the hub is welded, may be moved into the desired position. When the desired position is reached, the operator releases the pressure on the handle 54 and as a result the spring 60 causes locking member 53 to move upward in the direction A. In moving upward, the slot 55 then re-engages with one of the teeth 51 on locking hub 50 and thereby fixes the lockinghub, and thus the back 11, in the desired positron.

It will be appreciated that the chair can be so constructed that it can be knocked down into a relatively flat package for shipping purposes. To this end, the various parts of the tubular frames may be in several sections, connectable together, for example, by enlarging the end of one of the tubular sections to receive the end of an adjacent section. Any other convenient method may be used, such as would occur to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. A chaise longue comprising, an integral back and rocker, an integral footrest and rocker, a seat pivotally attached to the back and the footrest at a pivot point above the rockers, each rocker being adapted to make contact with a supporting surface below its respective pivot point to support the chaise longue above the supporting surface and means for releasably locking the seat to the back in a selected one of a plurality of positions whereby the chaise lounge may, when the locking means is released, be rocked by an occupant, or locked by the occupant in a desired fixed position.

2. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the rocker means are formed to permit rocking of the back from a horizontal position approximately from the horizontal.

3. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means include a friction clutch at the pivot between the back and the seat, and screw means for adjusting the clutch to vary its resistance to relative movement between the back and the seat.

4. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the friction clutch comprises a first clutch member on one of the seat and the back, and a second clutch member on the other of the seat and the back, and a screw passing through the first member and threaded into the second member, the screw serving as a pivot and to adjust the pressure between the clutch members.

5. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means comprises first and second locking members mounted on the back and the seat, respectively, and a locking sleeve axially slidable from a position wherein it embraces one of the first and second locking members to a position wherein it embraces both of said members to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

6. A chair as defined in claim 5 wherein each member is a regular-polygon, the sleeve having an internal surface adapted to mate with the polygon to prevent relative rotation between the sleeve and the members.

7. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein each rocker includes a semi-circular. portion, .the back and the footrest in side elevation extending tangentially from an end of the respective rocker, the center point of the semi-circle being on a perpendicular line drawn downwardly from each pivot point, whereby, as the back is moved upward from the horizontal position, the point at which the rocker meets the supporting surface shifts rearwardly in relation to the pivot, and whereby the rear of the seat moves downwardly as the back moves upward.

8. A chair as defined in claim 7 wherein the locking means comprises first and second locking members mounted one on each of the back and the seat, and latch means non-rotatably mounted in one of said locking members and movable from a position wherein it engages with the other locking member thereby preventing relative rotation between said first and second locking members, to a position wherein it is released from engagement with said other locking member and allows relative rotation between the two locking members.

9. A chair as defined in claim 8 wherein said first locking member incorporates radially disposed teeth, latch means being mounted on the other of said locking members and having a slot engageable with one of said teeth to prevent relative rotation between the two locking members. v

10. A chair as defined in claim 9 wherein said latch means incorporates a handle remote from said slot and a spring positioned between said handle and the second locking member, whereby the latch means may be caused to move downward by the application of pressure to said handle and thereby the slot in said latch means may be disengaged from the teeth on the first locking member and wherein when said pressure is released the spring causes the locking pin to move upward and thereby re-engages the slot with one of the teeth on the first member. 

1. A chaise longue comprising, an integral back and rocker, an integral footrest and rocker, a seat pivotally attached to the back and the footrest at a pivot point above the rockers, each rocker being adapted to make contact with a supporting surface below its respective pivot point to support the chaise longue above the supporting surface and means for releasably locking the seat to the back in a selected one of a plurality of positions whereby the chaise lounge may, when the locking means is released, be rocked by an occupant, or locked by the occupant in a desired fixed position.
 2. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the rocker means are formed to permit rocking of the back from a horizontal position approximately 80* from the horizontal.
 3. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means include a friction clutch at the pivot between the back and the seat, and screw means for adjusting the clutch to vary its resistance to relative movement between the back and the seat.
 4. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the friction clutch comprises a first clutch member on one of the seat and the back, and a second clutch member on the other of the seat and the back, and a screw passing through the first member and threaded into the second member, the screw serving as a pivot and to adjust the pressure between the clutch members.
 5. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means comprises first and second locking members mounted on the back and the seat, respectively, and a locking sleeve axially slidable from a position wherein it embraces one of the first and second locking members to a position wherein it embraces both of said members to prevent relative rotation therebetween.
 6. A chair as defined in claim 5 wherein each member is a regular polygon, the sleeve having an internal surface adapted to mate with the polygon to prevent relative rotation between the sleeve and the members.
 7. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein each rocker includes a semi-circular portion, the back and the footrest in side elevation extending tangentially from an end of the respective rocker, the center point of the semi-circle being on a perpendicular line drawn downwardly from each pivot point, whereby, as the back is moved upward from the horizontal position, the point at which the rocker meets the supporting surface shifts rearwardly in relation to the pivot, and whereby the rear of the seat moves downwardly as the back moves upward.
 8. A chair as defined in claim 7 wherein the locking means comprises first and second locking members mounted one on each of the back and the seat, and latch means non-rotatably mounted in one of said locking members and movable from a position wherein it engages with the other locking member thereby preventing relative rotation between saId first and second locking members, to a position wherein it is released from engagement with said other locking member and allows relative rotation between the two locking members.
 9. A chair as defined in claim 8 wherein said first locking member incorporates radially disposed teeth, latch means being mounted on the other of said locking members and having a slot engageable with one of said teeth to prevent relative rotation between the two locking members.
 10. A chair as defined in claim 9 wherein said latch means incorporates a handle remote from said slot and a spring positioned between said handle and the second locking member, whereby the latch means may be caused to move downward by the application of pressure to said handle and thereby the slot in said latch means may be disengaged from the teeth on the first locking member and wherein when said pressure is released the spring causes the locking pin to move upward and thereby re-engages the slot with one of the teeth on the first member. 